Vehicle-lamp door



L. L. PFEIFER.

VEHICLE LAMP DOQR.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT-10, 1917.

Patented Oct. 5, 1920.

awuemtoz UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEo-L; PFEIFE R, or COLUMBUS, OHIO.

VEHICLE LAMP D OOR'Q' Application 'filedSepte'mber 10, 1917.

T 0 all whom it map/x'concernw w Be it known that I, LEO IJJPTEIFER', a citizen of the United States, residing-at 1194l= Bryden' road, Columbus, in the -county of Franklin: and State'of Ohio; have invented certain new' and useful Improvements in 'Ve-' l1'icle-IJam-pl'-Doors, of whiclr the following is a specification.

This invention relates =to-vehicle lamps and has particular reference"to the-door construction thereof, the object of 1 the in vention being to simplify and improve the general method of'connectmg the lens of-a lamp with a cooperating doorframe,wherebythe lens will be rendered removable from the frameso that'in the event'of the samebecoming broken or injured, at=perfectlens may be substituted in the frame in place thereof.

Another obj ect "of the invention resides in providing improved mean'sfor preventing 1 air from passing through joints or: connec'- tions, existing between" the lens and the" frame therefor, to thereby prevent thesame otal connection with the lanip body, said ring being formed with an inneroverlapped portion forming an annular lens socket' for the reception of a light drffuslng'lens' or the like, parts of'the socket formingpor tions being extended to provide securing fingers, whereby-when the latter'are in relative engagement with the 1ens,the samewill be effectually retained within said "door.

In theaccompanyingdrawing Figure 1 is an elevation of a lamp provided with the door comprising the present invention, parts of the door and lamp being shown in sec tion to disclose the underlying structure. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary rear elevation of the door. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detailed sectional view, disclosing more particularly the manner of uniting the lens with its associated ring. Fig. at is a vertical sectional view taken through the ring, the gasket member and the lens of the door, said elements being separated and shown in group formation.

Similar characters of reference denote corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawing.

sp'ecifieatio'nof Letters Patent.

Serial N0. 190,519.

The lamp shown in the drawing, consists of'a'bod-y 2, top 3 and a font 4-, all ofwhich being constructed and" associated in the usual manner; Connectedwith' the body2 ls'a door 5, which forms the basis ofthe present lnvention, but=it should' be' understood however, that the same may be em.- p-loyedwith equal facility upon 'other-stylcs of lamps, if desired. In this instance, the door 5- is hinged as at Gto the body 2 of the lamp, so that by opening the door, the

interior of said body will'be rendered-ac cessible;

The door preferably-consists of'an annular, metallic lens ring 7, which is adapted to retain and support a transparent ortranslucentlens 8 in a rigid and substantial manner whereby the lens will be maintained in an operatlveposition within said door; The outer circumferentialedge of the ring'is provided with an annulated crimp '9, which is adapted to" engage; when the door is closed, with a" semi-resilient shoulder 10, formed'upon the outer" flared-end ofthe body 2, this construction permitting the door to be firmly associated with the body, and

is of a character to prevent-air from passing through the joints formed thereby; A resihent catch 11 is also employed to establish and insure close relation between the door and the lamp body when the former occupiesa closed position. A- handle 12 is secured to the ring 7 and is utilized in the manipulation of said door.

In order'that the aims and achievements of the present invention will be more clearly understood, it is thought advisable to state at'this juncture that hitherto =it-has been a common practice in lamp manufacture to rigidly secure the lens 8 tethering 7 by providing a circular groove in the crimped inner circumferential edge of the ring for the reception of the annular marginal edge of said lens, the edge of said ring being pressed tightly into engagement with the lens so as to completely encircle the latter. IVhile the aforesaid construction afforded a substantial method of connecting a lens with a cooperating ring, it possessed an important disadvantage or defect, namely, that in the event of the lens breaking or becoming injured, it has been practically impossible to remove the same from the ring, so that a new one could be substituted in place thereof. This usually necessitated the discarding of the ring with its damaged lens,

Patented 'Oct. 5, 1920.

thereby considerably adding to the expense of repairing or manufacturing a lamp.

To overcome the above disadvantage, and others, the door 5 comprising the present invention, provides a structure whereby a lens will be rendered interchangeable or removable with regard to said ring, thereby eliminating the usual unitary or rigid construction found in similar doors of previous manufacture.

To this end, the ring 7 is provided with an overlapped inner circumferential edge 13, which terminates in a substantially circular horizontal shoulder 14, the portions 13 and 14: in the ring defining a socket for the reception of the outer reduced margin 15 of the lens 8. The shoulder 14 is provided with integral pliant fingers 16 which, when the lens is positioned within the ring, are adapted to be turned inwardly to engage with the inner surface of the lens, and to retain the latter in a securely held and locked position within said door. This construction is a decided improvement upon the ordinary method of turning down the entire edge of the shoulder portion 1 1, in order to secure the lens, as it will be ob vious that to remove a lens when thus held,

it will be necessary to mutilate the ring to such an extent that the same can not be successfully employed again. By use of the finger 16 however, the lens may be re- 'moved from the ring by simply bending the fingers outwardly, then by forcing the lens out of said ring, this being an exceedingly simple operation and can be quickly and easily performed.

, In order to prevent air or the like from passing through the connections, existing between the lens and the ring, and thereby interfering with combustion taking place within the body 2, the present invention contemplates the provision of a gasket member 17, which is turned to receive the reduced marginal edge 15 of thelens. The member 17 will thus be positioned between the'lens and the shoulder 14, and due to the action of the locking finger 16, the

gasket will be wedged into engagement with the portions 13 and 14: in the ring 7, thereby effectually preventing said fluid from passing through the door, and also eliminating vibration between the parts thereof.

From the foregoing it will be evident that there is provided mechanism whereby the objects of the invention have been achieved, that all of the advantageous features above mentioned are, among others, present. The door embodies relatively few parts, all of which may be quickly assembled in opera tive relation and rigidly and substantially retained therein. In the event of injury to a lens, the latter may be quickly removed from correlation with the ring and a perfect one inserted in place thereof; this action may be accomplished without removing the ring from the lamp. The use of the gasket member effectually prevents air from passing through the door and thereby insures uniform combustion within the lamp when the latter is of. a fuel burning character; it of course being understood that the door may be employed upon other forms of vehicle lamps or lights other than that shown and described.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new and patentable is:

A lamp door comprising an annular metallic ring having a lens opening formed therein, an annular lens seat integrally formed with said ring by bending the portions of the latter from the bounding edges of said opening inwardly upon said ring so that said inwardly bent portions will lie substantially parallel with the adjacent outer portions of said ring, said inwardly bent portions terminating in a right angularly extending annular flange, a lens having its circumferential edge seated in the pocket formed by bending said ring inwardly and angularly, and a plurality of plying fingers formed with said angularly disposed flange, said fingers being capable of being bent inwardly to engage with the inner side of said lens to retain the latter within said pocket.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

LEO L. PFEIFER. 

